"Why am I just now finding out you helped a mortal for nothing in return?" Ethan's boss, Dagon shouts. His voice booms off the walls in the small room he confronts him in.
Ethan inhales sharply, trying to come up with an excuse. "It was a slow day, and I pissed off some angels. It won't happen again."
"No, it won't. You're not an angel anymore, kid. We aren't in the business of good deeds. You're going to make up for this."
"How?"
"Figure something out!" Dagon shouted, a whip of fire lashing at Ethan's chest. He seethes in pain before immediately leaving to talk to other demons and make a plan.
Meanwhile, Eden walked over to her brand new Jeep, twirling her keys as someone jogged up behind her.
"Nice Jeep," the boy from her class, Adam, smiles, gaining her attention. "That test sucked, right?"
"I'll be luckily if I got a D," she groaned. The spring weather had arrived a little early—it was warm enough for her to walk around without a jacket.
"So... we're having a little party tonight. You should come," Adam licked his lips and glanced her up and down. "I'd love to see you there."
Eden nodded slowly, considering his offer. "Yeah, I think I can stop by. I'll see you then,"
Adam waved as he left, and she climbed into her car to drive home.
It'd been about two weeks since she encountered Ethan, and hadn't heard anything since. It was almost disappointing.
Going back to your regular life after a demon shows up wasn't as fun. And it's not like she could tell anyone.
Daphne was home, but studying in her own room so Eden left her be.
However, she came out just as Eden was about to start getting ready. "Ooh, going to the party?"
"Yeah, Adam invited me and I figured I hadn't been out in a while," she shrugs, flipping through some of the clothes in her closet. "I usually work weekends a lot, y'know?"
"Trust me, I noticed," Daphne laughs quietly. "Wanna get ready and walk over together?"
Daphne was trying to get closer to Eden. They lived together, but their work and life schedules were practically opposite.
She was dating one of the guys in the fraternity that was throwing the party. They threw them pretty often, but it was supposed to be smaller than usual tonight, maybe 30 or 40 people compared to the usual couple hundred. That was the plan, anyway. It didn't always end up staying like that.
So the girls got ready together, and Daphne insisted on doing her makeup as they talked. It was nice.
Driving home wouldn't be happening, so they were walking to the party—it was only about a 15 minute walk, and the neighborhood was decent.
"Oh, I'll probably just stay the night here so if you wanna head back don't worry about me. I'm gonna go find Jason," Daphne waved as they arrived, heading off into the small crowd.
Let's just say Eden wasn't too close to anyone at the party.
Most of the friends she made in college her freshman year were a little older, and had all pretty much graduated now. She knew Daphne through mutual friends which is why they moved in together, but even they weren't close.
The one close friend that didn't graduate yet had to transfer closer to home. So Eden didn't really have anyone she was close to anymore, which is why she went to the party in the first place. To branch out again.
She wasn't a nervous person, but she wasn't outgoing either. Making close friends as an adult was a lot harder.
Luckily, Adam found her wandering.
"Eden, you made it!" He cheered, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. He was slightly buzzed, but mostly coherent. "Want a drink?"
Adam was a nice guy, so she was glad he saved her from spending half an hour walking around without talking to anyone. Of course, just as the two of them get talking, his friends insist on dragging him away for a minute.
Everyone at the party was just broken off into smaller groups, talking, so she found herself squeezing into a seat and listening for a while.
When someone tapped her shoulder, she turned around assuming it was Adam.
It was Ethan.
"Woah, what are you doing here?" She spluttered standing up.
"I was a little bored and figured I'd check out the party," he shrugged. His horns weren't there tonight. "And honestly... I hoped you'd be here."
Despite his horns being hidden, his skin was still hot and flushed. The red veins were harder to see in the dim lighting.
Eden found herself smiling.
Part of her was really hoping to run into him again. Maybe it was curiosity or maybe it was something else, but she'd been trying to figure out how to get him to visit.
And he came all on his own—he'd been looking for an excuse to find her too.
The two of them sit off in the corner and drink, and Eden catches Daphne giving a thumbs up across the room. She thought they were flirting.
"Eden! Adam wants to talk to you," a guy, Max, interrupts. "Sorry about stealing him."
"Oh! Uh, give me a minute, will you, Ethan?" She asks. He raises his eyebrows, but nods as Max leads her upstairs and points out Adam's room. "Hey, what's up?"
"Sorry about earlier. I was just hoping we could talk away from everything,"
Shutting the door behind her, she nods and takes a seat on his bed. She might've been a little clueless.
Adam was a gentlemen though, and that's partially why Eden didn't notice at all. He wasn't forward whatsoever.
His hand was resting on her knee, as Ethan walked in.
"Who are you?" Adam asked, a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Ethan. One of the other guys invited me." He yawned, and Eden noticed him mouth something afterward and do an odd motion with his hands.
Adam nodded, stood up, and walked out without another word.
"What did you do to him?" Eden groaned. Ethan just made him think he had to take care of something downstairs.
"He likes you, y'know."
She didn't catch it, but his eyes tinted red as he said it. He didn't realize either.
"Right. Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't do... that to anyone else here, Ethan. I know these people." That was something he'd have to get used to.
Typically, he would do whatever he wanted, when he wanted. But for some reason he didn't mind listening to her.
Ethan tried to convince her to stay upstairs and hangout where it was quiet but Eden insisted they go back to the party. Adam had completely forgot about the incident as if it didn't happen.
He was playing beer pong, and somehow roped Eden into trying. She wasn't bad.
Until Ethan was her opponent.
"Let's make this interesting," he smirked, twirling the ball between his fingers. "If I win, you have to come upstairs with me."
"And if I win?" Her eyes were filled with mischief as she watched him.
"Anything you want." And since it was Ethan, he meant anything.
A few people watching let out 'oohs' at the proposition, and Adam had left. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe she was just curious, or maybe she forgot just what he could do... but she agreed.
The prize of anything she could want was way too tempting, she didn't even realize he was trying to get her upstairs again.
Right after she insisted they hangout downstairs.
Ethan was just tired of hanging out with drunk mortals. It wasn't his scene, he'd rather talk to Eden alone.
Their game starts off fair, but Eden notices she starts misses some of her shots when she shouldn't be. And Ethan's making some pretty lucky shots. She definitely didn't think this through.
"Cheater," she mouths at him from across the table before she finishes another cup of beer.
While they're getting close to finishing, Daphne sucked up to Eden. "Who is this guy? I thought you were gonna get with Adam."
"His name's Ethan," Eden says, ignoring her last comment. "And I'm pretty sure I just lost."
"A deal's a deal, Eden."
She rolls her eyes playfully as he grabs her hand, dragging her upstairs and into a quiet, unused room.
The alcohol was really hitting her. He seemed completely fine though.
"Why are you sober?" She hummed, sitting down across from him.
"Oh, alcohol doesn't really affect me. The whole... not being human thing. I just like the taste," Ethan shrugs, leaning slightly closer.
Eden rolls her eyes as she looks him up and down. He looked like a normal guy, but... "I didn't know you could hide your horns. I was already used to you with them."
"Here," he chuckles, barely having to think about it as they grow straight out of his forehead.
Eden, being a good bit drunk and having no concept of personal space, reaches up to touch one. He doesn't flinch or pull away, but watches closely.
They just felt like skin to her, and that was the weird part since they were bright red.
As they shrink away again, she's left with a hand in his hair and bad ideas—but she kisses him.
It's slow, at first, with Eden just taking in the warmth of his lips on hers, the way he feels, and Ethan taking in the giddy feeling of a first kiss with someone again. He couldn't explain it, but his emotions felt heightened.
As Ethan deepens the kiss he cupped her face, hands burning her skin.
But it felt good. Like taking a hot shower—she liked it. Things were heating up, both literally and figuratively.
Eden gently bites his bottom lip and puts a hand on his chest, attempting to push him back, but halting as he winces in pain. That's a mood killer.
"Are you okay?" She asks, furrowing her brows.
"Ah, yeah. It's not a big deal," Ethan plays it off, leaning into her again.
She shakes her head and tugs on his shirt until he gives in. The second it's off, she gasps.
Across his entire chest was a large red gash with dark burnt patches of skin around the edges.
"What happened to you?"
"Eden, it's really not a big deal. I got in some trouble, but it'll heal completely in a few days." Just because he healed quickly didn't mean it wasn't painful.
She trailed her finger along the edges gently, which shouldn't have distracted Ethan as much as it did. "What kind of trouble?"
He knew she wouldn't give up. "I made a mistake a work. It was just one hit,"
Hearing him call whatever he did in Hell work was almost laughable, but that's just how things operated. She was too concerned with his injury to bother with anything else anyhow.
"Can I put my shirt back on or are you not finished ogling me?" He joked to lighten the mood.
"Shut up," Eden huffs, sitting up straight. "Can I ask you some personal questions?"
If you're in the presence of a demon, you're gonna be curious. She'd been holding back but now that they were alone and it wasn't random, she was going to ask all she could.
Ethan, a little confused, nodded at her.
Thinking for a moment, she bites her lip and stares off. She knows what she wants to ask, but not how to phrase it.
"What's it like? In Hell?"
He lets out a little sigh. "I mean... it's Hell, Eden. It's pretty bad. Not for me or the other demons, but I know that's not what you're asking." He was so nonchalant about it.
"Do you know if I'm—"
"That's not exactly my thing. And I wouldn't be able to tell you if I knew." He'd already broken the rules for her once.
Eden, sobering up quickly, isn't sure if her next question is one he'll like. But she has to know.
"What do you do?" She had to face the realities here; Ethan was a demon. He was a fallen angel.
"A couple things. As a fallen angel I naturally rank higher and have more responsibilities." The way he talks about it makes it sound so normal. "Sometimes I'll handle torture, of mortals and captured angels. Or punishments for lower ranking demons who have messed up. Other times I'm just supposed to cause chaos and make things harder for angels. In fact, I handle most angel affairs. And sometimes I'll go around striking deals and collecting souls."
Torture? Collecting souls? This wasn't an episode of Supernatural, it was her life.
It didn't feel like it in that moment.
But surely, those people in Hell, they must've done something to deserve it, right? That's what made sense.
"I see that look in your eyes. This can't be a surprise—you knew I wasn't good, Eden."
"Do you have like... human emotions?" She blurts before she can stop herself.
If she was going to spend time around him, she needed to know. Luckily, Ethan didn't take offense to the question.
His emotions were complicated though, having never been human in the first place. He was a Creation, not made for the same reasons as mortals. With different inhibitions and talents.
And the transition from angel to demon is not an easy one. It strips you and breaks you down, and only those who truly want it survive.
So his feelings were hard to decipher, and hard to explain since they weren't the same as hers.
"I have emotions, but not human ones." He starts. "They're much less prominent—mortals are way too emotional, honestly."
Eden let out a small giggle. He was right, but it's what made them so... well, human.
"And I don't really feel much guilt or remorse. I don't worry much. They're just not built in me. Like what you're feeling right now, that sense of confusion wondering if this is right, I wouldn't be feeling that." Her eyes widen; how did he know exactly how she felt? "But I definitely feel anger, I can feel joy and lust and I think love, but mostly it's a state of neutral. Again, I feel a lot less, like they're dulled." Except lately, around you.
Ethan's neutral state was his confident and cool, playful side he'd shown a lot.
Of course, it couldn't all be boiled down so simply, but that's as much as he could explain without confusing the both of them.
She was extremely curious, and it made sense to be. This was a whole new world, it was a surprise to him she didn't freak out about it. She was just intrigued.
"So... why did you give up being an angel?" Eden asked, her voice low.
"That's enough for now."
There wasn't a chance to protest as he stood and turned away. She noticed his fists were clenched tightly but couldn't see anything else.
His eyes were flaming red, and his skin was turning hotter than usual. But he stopped.
Ethan didn't want to explode at her, especially over a question. She didn't push it, he could drop it.
"Hey, it's getting kind of late. Why don't I walk you home?" He gave a big grin, back to normal.
Eden pursed her lips, but agreed. She was mostly sober at this point and getting kind of tired. Plus, it was obvious Ethan wanted a subject change immediately.
She'd long forgotten about Adam, who watched her leave with narrowed eyes as she laughed at something Ethan said.
About five minutes into their walk, it starts down-pouring. And it wasn't warm enough to walk and get soaked.
"C'mon, lets hangout in here until this stops," she says, dragging him toward the open building.
"I can't go in there, sweetheart." Ethan let out a chuckle.
"What? Ethan, we're getting soaked. It'll probably just be a few minutes," he stands in place as she climbs the steps.
It's a church.
She facepalms as she realizes. Of course he couldn't go into a church.
"Grab my hand," he tells her. Not knowing why, she just listens. Within seconds, they're standing in her apartment.
"I forgot you could do that! Why didn't you do that in the first place?" Eden smacks his arm, water dripping off of them onto the kitchen floor. "Now we're soaked for no reason."
The demon rolls his eyes and holds her hand again, slowly drying the two of them.
"...alright but I still think you should've done something sooner."
She mumbles something under her breath and walks into another room, leaving Ethan standing around.
When she comes back, he's eating her cookies.
"Do you even need to eat?" Eden laughs, reaching for one herself.
His head shakes as he reaches for another one. "No, but cookies are good," what is existence without eating anyway? "Where'd you go by the way?
"Oh, I had to plug in my phone and I got distracted. I honestly didn't think you'd still be here,"
"Should I go?"
"No!" Eden says frantically, before realizing how desperate it sounded. "I mean—you don't have to. I'm not kicking you out. I just figured you might be busy or something."
He nodded slowly, his face smug. She didn't want him to leave just yet.
"I do have to go soon, but I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye," he was a demon, not a jerk.
The two of them migrate to the living room, sitting on the loveseat in the corner.
They talk over Criminal Minds playing on the tv well into the night. And, even into the morning. They don't even notice until sunlight begins shining through the blinds.
The two just talked for hours, getting to know each other. She made Ethan feel like a real person, and she enjoyed his company way more than she should. He didn't need to sleep, so of course he didn't get tired, but she was so interested in him and the conversation she didn't either.
"Holy shit it's early," Eden says, a yawn slipping past her lips. "Didn't you have somewhere to be?"
"Shit. Yeah, I did, two hours ago."
It was 6am.
Eden, knowing it was too late to sleep, climbed up from the couch. "I should probably go grab a coffee, I have an 9am lab today."
"Fuckin' mortals," Ethan mutters, shaking his head. "Dammit, Eden!"
When he turns to look at her, his eyes are red and his horns have appeared again.
This is the first time he's really scared her, other than when he first appeared in her house. The red eyes remind her of the dream she had right before she met him.
"Uh... sorry," she mumbles and takes a step back, bumping into the coffee table.
But he's gone.
Where did he get off blaming Eden as if it was her fault he forgot anyway? Of course, after that outburst she wouldn't ask him, but she wasn't sure if she'd even be seeing him again.
Maybe that was for the best. He was a demon, could she really trust him?
Although... he seemed more human than some of the people she'd known. But maybe that was the remnants of his angel side. Or an act. Not who he really was.
God, was this really her life now? It was so crazy that it was laughable. And she trying to justify it, not get away from it.
Maybe she was bored with her life before, but this was exciting and fun to her. She wanted to know more—but after seeing Ethan like that, wasn't so sure if it was a good idea.
So she took a shower, and as she was tying her shoes to leave, Ethan popped up.
"Holy shit!" Eden shouted, throwing a shoe at him. "Oh my god, it's just you. You scared this shit out of me."
Ethan stood there, rubbing the red mark the shoe left on his arm awkwardly.
He didn't say anything, he just... looked uncomfortable. "Ethan, what are you doing here?"
Words left his mouth, but they were muttered so quietly there was no way to tell what he actually said. He slips his hands into his pockets and teeters back and forth in his heels. His eyes were normal again, but he still had horns. There was no need to hide them around her.
As she raises her eyebrows, he scrunches his eyes closed and yells, "I brought you coffee!"
That was aggressive, Ethan.
"Uh, where?" She giggles quietly, trying not to make fun of him. He obviously wasn't used to apologizing or being all that nice.
Without word, he grabs her arm and ports them to her kitchen. Where there's about 10 different coffees sitting on the counter in a line. That might be a bit of overkill, but he was at least thorough.
"I didn't know what kind of coffee you liked."
"Aww, Ethan," she smiles, wrapping her arms around his neck for a hug. "That's really sweet."
"It's whatever. I was kind of an ass earlier, I probably should've watched the clock, you couldn't have known." He didn't say the word sorry, but it was his way of apologizing.
She had about an hour and a half before class, enough time to drink at least three coffees and talk to Ethan a bit.
So much for thinking she should stay away.
"So, what was so important at 4am anyway?" Eden hums, taking a sip of the black coffee.
His jaw clenches. "Had a meeting with my stupid brother."
"You have meetings with angels?"
"Sometimes. He called a meeting in neutral territory, and can you get in serious trouble if you miss those. I was able to convince him to reschedule though, since he's still my brother. He's kind of a pushover."
Sure, technically all angels could claim to be family, but the two of them were Created together which left a unique bond.
Eden, placing a hand on his arm to get his attention, poses a question, "can I come?"
"Absolutely not, Eden."
Ethan wasn't stupid enough to bring a mortal to a meeting like that.
Sometimes things got ugly, and they talked about stuff she sure as hell wasn't supposed to know about. It would be a huge risk to bring her.
But she was feeling curious, and more importantly didn't care how dangerous it could be. Before she met Ethan she was definitely more cautious, but bringing a demon into your life really spices things up. Plus, they had this strange connection.
Eden, not taking no for an answer, stepped forward and linked her fingers into his waistband. She was leaning up to kiss his neck too.
He licked his lips and watched her in anticipation, her skin cold in comparison.
"Hey, hey wait! That's not fair, you can't try and seduce me to get what you want."
"I mean, it was worth a shot." Eden grins, stepping back. "Some other time then. But I'm coming with, when is it?"
"No."
"Ethan, come on. He's an angel, right? Which means he's inherently like... good, I guess. That's boring, but I don't think he'd want to hurt me. And he'd probably be extra cautious with me around. You saw how he acted that first day," she explained, attempting to convince him to bring her.
Mostly she was just curious, and hated being told no.
"Fine. But you have to behave."
"What? I'm the one who has to behave? This'll be easy!" Eden was excited, so much so she was bouncing on her feet.
That was probably also the two coffees she'd already drank, but she was still excited.
For the next half hour before her class, Ethan nagged her about meeting conduct and what went on at them, warning her about the risks. He may have been trying to scare her.
He'd have to try a lot harder than that.
A/N
i am super excited about this story. im gonna update at least one chapter a week but don't be surprised if i do more